Bangkok: Research Center for Peace Building with cooperation of The World Conference Religious for Peace (WCRP), and Inter-religious Council of Sri Lanka and Thailand have organized an inter-religious conference in Bangkok Thailand during October 29 , 2009 at Tawanna Bangkok Hotel.

There were more than 150 participants from several religious groups in Sri Lanka and Thailand shared their experiences and opinions regarding the roles and participation of religious leaders in conflict transformation and peace building.

In times of war or peace and at different stages of conflict from prevention to post conflict reconciliation and reconstruction, religious leaders and their communities play a critical role.Senior religious leaders representing Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and other traditions from Sri Lanka and Thailand will be gathering in Bangkok on 29 October to present their unique initiatives of building an inter-religious instrument to undertake high-level advocacy and action to resolve conflict and advance peace.

ChallengesThe continued tension and violence in the southern border provinces of Thailand have resulted in the loss of over 3,500 lives since January 2004.While the vast majority (more than 80%) of Thailand’s 64 million people is Buddhist, the largest religious minority (about 3-5%) is Muslim.The Muslim minority is mainly clustered in the five southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwas, Satul and parts of Songkla where Muslims represent about 80% of the population.The current challenges and problems in the South have complex and inter-related causes including historical, economic, political, identity and cultural ones.The problem is further compounded by other factors such as corruption, illegal trade, tendency of Buddhist and Muslim pupils to join different schools, conflict between villagers and local officials, mistrust between Muslims and security officials.While the current conflict in the South is not religious in essence, religious identity has been misused to fuel the conflict.

Workshop on Civil Society Perspectives on Conflict and Peace In South and Southeast Asia

Workshop on Civil Society Perspectives on Conflict and Peace In South and Southeast Asia

Berghof Foundation for Peace Support (BFPS), Berlin, Regional Initiator for GPPAC South Asia , Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo and the Research Center for Peace Building / Mahidol University , Bangkok organized a workshop on Civil Society Perspectives on Conflict and Peace In South and Southeast Asia .

The Workshop was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 23-25 January,2009 and brought together scholars and activists from South and South East Asia focusing on issues on conflict and peace related themes. Insights were shared on the role of civil society actors in promoting conflict transformation and peace building with respect to internal conflicts and on the role of regional collaboration to improve the effectiveness of conflict prevention and peace promotion.

Managing conflict in today's world demands a level of intercultural awareness that can't be gained solely in a North American classroom. Royal Roads University now offers an exceptional international learning experience that takes participants, both East and West, to study comparative conflict management first hand.

Our exciting Master of Arts program starts with a 3-week residency in the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Thailand. The international program draws on Asian and Western perspectives to provide practical insight into managing conflict and change, both at home and abroad.